This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/16/2017
There are exactly three 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle cards graded GEM MINT PSA 10, safely tucked away in three of the finest collections in the world. With PSA 8 and PSA 9 examples of arguably the hobby's most coveted baseball card fetching prices five to ten times the amount they did just a few short years ago, you have to ask yourself, "What would one of those GEM MINT examples sell for today?" Is it five million? Maybe it's ten million. The thought of a ten million dollar baseball card five years ago seemed absolutely preposterous, but in today's market, totally plausible. Let's backtrack to Mickey Mantle's true rookie card, his 1951 Bowman issue #253 and ask the same question. Keep in mind, while the true rookie card doesn't carry quite the same swagger as the '52 Topps card, there's only one example out of over 1,800 submissions to reach the summit of a GEM MINT grade. Just one, compared to three for the '52 Topps Mantle. So what's the one and only 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle RC PSA 10 worth? More than one of those '52 Topps Mantles? More than ten million dollars? It's important to illustrate this point because a new variable has entered the equation, one that will surely send shock waves throughout the Mickey Mantle collector community. Presented is a fresh to the hobby 1951 Wheaties Mickey Mantle Premium, the first and only GEM MINT PSA 10 on record. While technically more of a photo that a card, the piece is one of eight subjects thought to be produced by General Mills with the intent of making it a Wheaties premium, though it is unknown if they were a test issue or if they were ever released at all. But several key points are perfectly clear; 1) It is the only item on PSA's "Mickey Mantle Master Set" besides the Bowman rookie card that was released in his rookie season of 1951. 2) The 1951 Wheaties Mantle is far scarcer than the Topps and Bowman cards, but carries the credibility of being attributed to a national company for distribution. Less than 70 total examples have been graded by PSA with 90% of those rated EX/MT or lower, and 3) Unlike the 1951 Bowman and 1952 Topps cards, it is the only item that shows a real life image of the teenage "The Commerce Comet" in real time. The PSA Set Registry gives the 1951 Wheaties Premium a rating of 5.00, equal to the 1953 Bowman Color and 1954 Bowman and Dan Dee issues. Using that rating as a basis for comparison, it wouldn't be out of line to suggest that the value of this unique specimen should be equal to one of those cards in a PSA 10, if that card was the only GEM MINT example ever graded. With no precedent to draw from, this should provide some perspective of what a serious game-changer this card represents, especially on the PSA Registry. One last piece of information to consider; a MINT PSA 9 example, one of two in existence, recently sold at auction for $15,420. This item's value will ultimately be determined when the hammer drops.